"De Leche Puffs"

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"De Leche Puffs"

7 x 5 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Hi everyone I could not resist the urge to paint another delicious dessert pastry.  I saw this one and could not get my eyes off of it and of course had to paint it.  I was hesitant to paint this one due to its complex textures and how much detail in every little section.  Needless to say this was a huge challenge to paint in one session, but I'm glad I did so I learned so much.  It was a lot of fun painting the drips from the chocolate and the intense yellows and subtle oranges through out the dessert.  I think it's an understatement to say I was eager to eat it when I was done.

I started with the usual dry brush approach for the drawing stage, using a bit of raw umber on the brush and no mediums.  Then I went straight into the dark chocolate area of the dessert, I started with the darker values using ivory black, raw umber and burnt sienna.  Then I added the lighter values using cerulean blue and titanium white.

Then I started on the first pastry area by just dry brushing the middle and darker values, I used naples yellow, cad. yellow light and raw umber.  Then I added the darker chocolate drips with ivory black and raw umber.  I'm constantly going back and forth the darker and lighter values pushing the chroma's and hues.  I'm always aware of the pressure I'm applying and the amount of paint I'm putting down. 

I repeat the same process with the second section.  Always starting light and working up to my values in the darks and lights.  I always find better control when I work up to the desired look I want, instead of just boldly putting it down.  

Even with the third section you can see i'm still keeping it really thin, its just i'm applying a bit more chroma to the mixture.  With the third picture here you can see i'm worried more about the turn of the form and getting that right before I move on.  

It's important to understand form and how light turns with the form.  The answer is not in the details, it's understanding how the form turns with the lights.  Then I started on the pineapple middle section, just by adding the local colors and making sure they are turning with the form.  I'm keeping it really thin in this section as well.

Then I start on the cone area and just do an overall lay in of the area to get the local colors right.  Once thats correct I go in and start adding details to the cone, when adding details i'm constantly noticing how the lights is affecting each area.  

Once the cone is completed I proceeded to lay in the background using cerulean blue, naples yellow, and titanium white.  When doing the background I'm able to soften some areas of the pastry and sharpen other areas.  Then I add the base by using ivory black, raw umber, burnt sienna, cad. yellow light, cerulean blue, and titanium white.   This painting was very difficult to paint in one session, the textures and the amount of attention each area needs was a big challenge.  I enjoyed playing around with different types of textures and seeing how I can paint them to the best of my ability.  I have to say eating them was much quicker and more enjoyable in the end, it was a great treat for a long day.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, hope you enjoyed this one.  Bon Apettite!